7 quick takes

which won't have photos and which I will probably not be able to link because of my annoying city wifi connection that has been having major issues the past month.

1. Internet. I guess God wants me to give up the internet for Lent, or at least blogging. I can get on email and Facebook, and read most other blogs from my iPhone, but blogging, at least with photos, is a no-go. I've been trying for 4 days to upload photos from our family fishing outing on Sunday and now have other fun pics from the Rodeo and St. Paddy's day to share. I can't pay bills easily or take care of my junk email account which is now bouncing emails because it's past 10,000!

2. Survival. I'm also in survival mode with Steven working insane hours right now. I planned to do schoolwork this week, but we ended up taking care of various things like washing grungy carseats and finding new shoes for the kids. We've gotten out of the house a lot, which is good for my soul, especially with the gorgeous weather we're having.

3. Catastrophes. So sad for the people of Japan. I vividly remember the helpless feelings of going through the hurricane situation here in 2008. I am trying to keep them in mind when I feel like exploding from our minor household catastrophes like potty accidents, cheerios and rice covering the kitchen floor, and a dog that has managed to escape twice in the past 24 hours!

4. Daylight Savings Time. It's not going well so far. Steven is working so late and then the kids are eating dinner at 8:30-9pm and going to sleep after 10. I've been doing well waking up at 7:30 with my alarm though. Only problem is that my iPhone alarm will not switch from the old time zone and keeps going off at 6:30! Not sure how I can reset that. I've tried and now it's just set for 7:30 and 8:30 (going off an hour earlier for each!)

5. Shopping. It's much easier when the 2 smallest children are asleep in a stroller. What a peaceful grocery trip! It has happened twice in the past 2 weeks. I push the stroller with the sleepers while the girls push the cart. Awesome. Except when the shopping trip is at 4pm so then the 3yr old stays up until 11pm because of his late nap! Another sad thing about shopping...I'm going to need another baby girl one day. These 2 no longer let Mommy make decisions about clothing and shoes and hairstyles and all that fun little girl stuff! No fair!

6. Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's actually after midnight already but I hope you had a fun day celebrating the Irish! Of course we did :) I have to say my kids were super-cute in their green. A kind friend hosted a fun little St. Patrick's playdate this morning and we were sure to get in some special treats and some green with our dinner. Speaking of dinner, Mary Clare has been wanting to cook for us and give us a little "date" in the backyard. Well, last night Daddy wasn't home and tonight it was dark by the time he arrived. So, even though she had grand ideas and even set out special clothes for me and a suit for Daddy to wear, they relented and served us dinner on the couch.

7. Better stop while I'm ahead. I finally got most of the photos to load, but now it's not letting me add the last one. So maybe you'll see this post, maybe that one, maybe both, and maybe neither. Tomorrow I am contacting SOMEONE about this internet situation! And it's not going to be the kind support guy or the IT man at city hall who won't return my calls. It's time for the big guns, folks. Wish me luck!

Happy weekend!